Emotional Eating, Binge Eating Disorder and Negative Body Image

Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating are not about the food

Effective Eating Disorder Treatment leads to a deeper connection with Self, with your body and with your own needs and wants.  It also leads to a more peaceful relationship with food and intuitive and balanced eating.

Emotional Eating comforts or numbs you with food. This usually takes the form of carbohydrates. Often unconsciously, food quickly and effectively obliterates our ability to feel distressing and/or uncomfortable feelings. Entertaining, celebrating and “treating yourself” with food are also signs that you’re an Emotional Eater.

Binge Eating is eating large amounts of food and feeling out of control. If you eat compulsively, or secretly, these are also indications that your relationship with food is out of balance. If you eat when not hungry, eat rapidly, and/or eat to the point of physical discomfort, I encourage you to read about Binge Eating Disorder. Especially relevant are feelings of shame or guilt that follow a food binge. Often, women with Binge Eating Disorder compensate by later restricting. And restricting, in turn, increases the urge to Binge by triggering the body’s need to compensate for deprivation.

Bulimia is a category of behaviors designed to facilitate the expulsion of food or calories from the body. This includes self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse, diuretic abuse and over-exercising. These behaviors represent an effort to mitigate weight gain, to facilitate weight loss and/or to experience the physical release often associated with purging. Often, women with Binge Eating Disorder compensate for bingeing with one or more bulimic behaviors.

Negative Body Image

Negative Body Image is based in the belief that our body does not conform to externally defined acceptable options.  It is fueled by our culture’s incessant messaging that there are narrowly defined ways the human body must look vs. ways the human body must not look. An overly fixated focus on body, weight, physical shape, appearance and comparison to others are all typical manifestations of Negative Body Image.

Transient ‘fashion’ and ‘marketers-for-profit’ create and sell the idea that only certain body types and physical traits are fashionable while others are ‘not.’ As a result, women must navigate ever-changing minefields of conformity and rejection, all in an effort to minimize the insecurity fueled by external forces. Body Positivity, Fat Positivity and Diversity and Inclusion campaigns such as Health at Every Size – threaten the very existence and success of ‘marketers.’. Indeed, women who love and accept themselves exactly as they are pose the greatest threat to a myriad of industries built on fueling women’s insecurity.  

It’s not about the food. It is about power, control, oppression and misogyny.

Binge Eating Disorder Treatment

I provide online therapy for Disordered Eating, Binge Eating Disorder and Negative Body Image Issues with the same effective approaches that I integrate into all areas of my therapy practice. Because Eating Disorders and Body Image struggles are symptoms of other issues, it is imperative to address and resolve the underlying sources of distress before it is possible to experience relief. Disordered eating behaviors are maladaptive coping mechanisms. And in order to eliminate the need for maladaptive coping mechanisms, the underlying issues must be resolved.

I look forward to working with you and helping you create a loving, compassionate relationship with your Self.

Read my GA Voice Interview from June 2020.